Why is Hendry smiling?

If GM is going down, he apparently will do it with a bang

August 19, 2011|By Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune reporter

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry was in an unusually good mood Wednesday morning at Minute Maid Park, despite the troubles surrounding him.

Hendry's team had the second-worst record in the National League, his $18 million pitcher had filed a grievance for being placed on the disqualified list, his manager was struggling to gain the fans' confidence and his closer had served up a walk-off grand slam the night before.

For someone who's Q rating in Chicago probably was between Adam Dunn and the cable guy, Hendry looked like a man who was totally at peace with himself.

In the last six days, Hendry called Carlos Zambrano's bluff on his retirement talk by saying "we will respect his wishes and honor them," sent him to the disqualified list without pay, apologized to the Braves for spoiling Bobby Cox's night, convinced Chairman Tom Ricketts to shell out a club-record $12 million on draft bonuses, and even called a Tyler Colvin home run before Tuesday night's game in Houston.

With one year left on his contract and the Cubs playing out the string in their worst season since 2006,

why is Hendry smiling? Does he know something the rest of us don't?

No one really knows, except perhaps Hendry and Ricketts. But one thing appears certain — if Hendry is on his way out, as some have surmised, he's going to go down with a bang.

The upcoming fight with the players union regarding Zambrano's unpaid suspension seems to have lit a fire under Hendry, who believes he has the facts and the players on his side, just as he did during the Milton Bradley suspension in 2009.

And because he still has scouting in his blood, Hendry was giddy over the Ricketts' spending commitment to the draft choices, something he never received in his previous eight years as general manager.

Addressing the current draft crop, which includes four players the Cubs felt had first-round potential, scouting director Tim Wilken said he was forced to draft lesser players in the past because of the overall draft budget.

"We didn't know we could sign them all (this year)," he said. "But with that little nudge Tom gave us, it gave us a lot of confidence in taking these guys over guys who we might get there — role-player type of guys — in some of those spots where we would normally take in years past."

The fact Ricketts made such a commitment to Hendry's vision could be interpreted as a sign he's confident in the direction the organization is headed, despite the apparent problems at the major league level. If that's the case, the potential of a budding farm system under Hendry and Wilken could trump the poor contracts Ricketts inherited when his family bought the team.

But with no prospects on the immediate horizon to help the Cubs in 2012, except perhaps Triple-A outfielder Brett Jackson, Hendry has to hope Ricketts has enough patience to wait and see if Javier Baez, Daniel Vogelbach, Zeke DeVoss and Dillon Maples show in the low minors they're future stars. If that's the case, Hendry should last at least through 2012.

Fortunately for Hendry, the only four votes that matter are those of Tom, Pete, Laura and Todd Ricketts.